Voting begins for final phase of polling in Bihar

Patna, Bihar : Bihar enters its final phase of voting today as fates of candidates begin to get sealed in ballot boxes from early morning hours in the state of Bihar. 57 seats are bidding for their votecast in the fifth and final stage of Bihar assembly elections. This phase is set to work as a tug of war between the regional divide of voter mentality as a substantial majority vote seats are on the contest, which predominantly might be a favorable sweet spot for the incumbent-led grand alliance comprising of majors like Lalu Yadav’s RJD, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s JD(U) and the national party Congress led by Sonia Gandhi.The anti-BJP Grand Alliance led by Nitish Kumar is seen as favourites in this region, called Seemanchal.

The 57 constituencies include 24 in Seemanchal region bordering West Bengal and are spread over nine districts of Madhubani, Darbhanga, Supual, Madhepura, Saharsa, Araria, Kisanganj, Purnea, and Katihar.There are a total of 827 candidates who have filed their nominations for the 57 legislative seats, among which 58 women candidates are trying their electoral fate in this round of final phase of voting,

Prominent among those whose fate will be sealed in the ballot today include senior minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav of Janata Dal (United ) or JD(U) (Supual), Rashtriya Janata Dal or RJD Legislature party leader Siddiqui (Alinagar), Minister Narendra Narayan Yadav (Alamnagar) and Lalu Prasad’s close aide Bhola Yadav (Bahadurpur).Owaisi-led AIMIM is also seen as an activer player ih the Seemanchal region and this round of polling would be watched keenly to observe how AIMIM (All India Majlis-e-Ittehad-ul Muslimeen) of Hyderabad lawmaker Asauddin Owaisi fares in the polls and whether it manages to successfully launch itself in Bihar. AIMIM has floated six candidates in Seemanchal areas where Muslim voters are present in large numbers.

The time schedule for polling spreads from 7 am morning to 5 pm in the evening, barring two seats, which fall under the sensitive category of Naxal-hit constituencies – Simri Bhakhtiyarpur and Mahisi in Saharsa district – where polling time has been curtailed by two hours and would end at 3 pm.